The Prime Minister has visited Kent today to meet local people and talk about their concerns on issues such as immigration.
He took part in a question and answer session with local people in Maidstone hosted by the Kent Messenger Group, where he discussed the changes to the immigration system that he had announced earlier.
Gordon Brown also answered queries on topics such as Afghanistan, the jobs market and local development plans in Kent.
Talking about plans for immigration, the PM told the audience:
“I see this as a turning point in the debate. We have created a points system so that nobody who has got very few skills or nothing to offer this country is going to be invited into this country. So you have got to be assessed on a points system. What we have said today is that over the next few months…we will now tighten up the points system.”
Asked by primary school children about the job market they might expect to find when they are adults, the PM said the global economy is set to double in the next 20 years and British products and services would be well placed to meet the increasing demand.
“I think despite the pessimism about the economy today around the world – every country has had this huge banking problem – that we can say to the younger generation that their prospects in the next generation will indeed be better than ours so I’m optimistic about the future. And if you take a long term view looking at what’s happening, the world is going to need the sort of goods and the sort of services and the sort of quality that we can offer and what we can produce in Britain.”
Earlier, Gordon Brown had toured manufacturer Delphi’s factory in Gillingham, which produces parts for the diesel automotive industry, and met staff and apprentices.